Securement for mop or broom heads



Jan. 1969 H HOHENSON X 3, 2 ,78

SECUREMENT FOR MOP OR BROOM HEADS Filed Oct. 25, 1967 INVENTOR. HAEEY hf f/E/VSO/V,

United States Patent 3,423,781 SECUREMENT FOR MOP OR BROOM HEADS Harry H. Henson, Box 505, Urania, La. 71480 Filed Oct. 25, 1967, Ser. No. 678,084 U.S. Cl. 15-145 Int. Cl. A46b /00 2 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A mop including a handle and a mop head secured to the handle by means of a sleeve secured to the head by a pin which extends from the sleeve, a second sleeve for slidably receiving the first sleeve, and second sleeve including a bayonet slot for receiving and engaging the pin and a compression spring secured in the second sleeve is disclosed.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the invention The present invention relates to cleaning implements in general and more particularly to mops and brooms.

Description of the prior art SUMMARY Briefly, and without intending to limit the scope of the invention, the present invention comprises a mop of the type which includes a mop head and a handle and a means for selectively connecting the mop head to the handle. The connecting means, in the preferred embodiment, comprises a sleeve with a pin extending therefrom for being received in a second sleeve, the second sleeve having a bayonet slot for engaging the pin and means for biasing the first sleeve outwardly. Accordingly, the principle object of this invention is to provide an improved mop connector whereby the entire mop head may be removed and replaced with a new mop head or with a broom head.

A further object of the invention is to provide connecting means for a mop head to a mop handle, or the equivalent broom connector.

Yet an additional and important object of the invention is to provide means for selectively connecting a mop head to a handle which is easily and quickly actuatable.

The specific construction of the invention as disclosed in the drawings and described in the specification which now follows also constitutes an important object of the invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIGURE 1 is an exploded vie-w of the overall combination of this invention showing 'a mop handle, a mop head and selective connecting means therebetween.

FIGURE 2 is a view in partial cross section showing details of the construction of the connecting means in exploded form.

FIGURE 3 is a side view in partial cutaway and cross section showing the connecting means securing the head of a mop to the mop handle.

FIGURE 4 is an exploded detail view of one form of the connecting means.

FIGURE 5 is an exploded perspective view showing another form of the connecting means.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention, overall, comprises a mop of the type which includes a handle shown at '10 in FIGURE 1, a mop head shown at 12 and means shown generally at 14 for connecting the mop head to the mop handle.

Referring to FIGURE 2, the connecting means for securing the mop head 12 to the handle 10 comprises a dowel 16 to which the mop head proper is secured as by a band 18 or any other conventional securing method.

A sleeve 20 is secured to the dowel 16 by means of a pin 22 which, as will be described in greater detail hereinafter, extends externally from the sleeve 20.

A second sleeve 24 which includes a bayonet slot 26 is secured by means of a nail or screw 28 to the end of the handle 10 which is provided, at that end, with an opening 30 in which is received a compression spring 32. It will be apparent from FIGURE 2 that the compression spring 32 is secured in the opening 30 by means of screw 28.

As shown in FIGURE 3, the mop head 12 is secured to the handle 10 simply by inserting the sleeve 20 in the sleeve 24 and engaging the pin 22 in the bayonet slot 26, the pin being held in engagement by the compression spring 32, as described.

In the preferred embodiment, as illustrated in FIG- URE 4, the pin 22 extends through openings 34 and 34' in the sleeve 20 and is engaged by the bayonet slots 26 and 26' in the sleeve 24.

In an alternative embodiment, however, as illustrated in FIGURE 5, the pin 22a is received only through the aperture 34a in the sleeve 20a, and the protruding end thereof is engaged only by the bayonet slot 26a in sleeve 24a.

In use, it is only necessary to give a slight inward exertion to overcome the bias of the spring 32 and a slight twist to disengage the pin from the bayonet slot and an easy pull to remove the mop head. A new mop head may, then, be replaced on the handle and the old mop head cleaned, stored or disposed of as desired. Alternatively, a broom head may be replaced on the handle, if desired. Thus, the same handle serves as a broom handle and a mop handle. This is especially desirable in mobile homes, aboard ships, and other places where space is at a premium.

It will be apparent from the foregoing description that a mop having significant economic and technical advantages over the prior art has been described. It will further be realized that the description is intended as merely exemplary and not as limiting. Accordingly, it is expected that the scope of the invention will be defined by the claims and that departures from the actual embodiment disclosed may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention.

I claim:

1. In a mop combination of the type which comprises a handle, a mop head, and connecting means for removably securing the mop head to the handle, said connecting means comprising a dowel to which the mop head is secured, a first sleeve receiving the dowel in one end, a pin extending at least partially through the first sleeve and the dowel and extending exteriorly thereof for securing the sleeve on the dowel, a second sleeve secured on one end of the handle and extending therefrom, said handle including an opening in said end, a compression spring extending from the opening into the second sleeve for engagement with the dowel in the assembled condition, an elongate frictional fastener extending through a side of the second sleeve and into the opening in the handle for securing the second sleeve and the spring to the handle, said second sleeve including at least one bayonet slot for engaging the pin when the first sleeve is received in the second sleeve.

2. The mop of claim 1 wherein the pin extends on opposite sides of the first sleeve and the second sleeve includes two opposed bayonet slots for engaging the ends of the pin.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 4 9/1932 Silva et al. 15-176 7/1948 Stillbach 306-23 12/ 1954 Rudy.

7/1961 Smith 15-145 FOREIGN PATENTS 2/ 1928 Great Britain. 6/ 1931 Italy. 12/ 1932 Italy.

U.S. Cl. X.R. 

